- Holocephali
Taxobox
name = Holocephali
fossil_range = fossilrange|416|0Devonian –Recent
image_caption = "Hydrolagus colliei "
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Chondrichthyes
subclassis =Holocephali
subdivision_ranks = Orders
subdivision =
*Chimaeriformes
* †Petalodontiformes
* †Iniopterygiformes
* ?†Eugeneodontida Subclass Holocephali is a taxon of cartilaginous fishes, of which the order
Chimaeriformes is the only surviving group.Holocephali has an extensive fossil record that starts during the
Devonian period. However, most fossils are teeth, and the body forms of numerous species are not known, or, at best, poorly understood. Some experts further group the ordersPetalodontiformes ,Iniopterygiformes , andEugeneodontida into the taxon "Paraselachimorpha ," and treat it as a sister group to Chimaeriformes. However, as almost all members of Paraselachimorpha are poorly understood, most experts suspect this taxon to be eitherparaphyletic or awastebasket taxon .
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